In A Streetcar Named Desire, there is very gender-specific language used. These words typically describe the characters physical appearances, but also lend themselves to the character's personalities, too.
The two characters that I will discuss here are Blance and Stanley, who the story seems to revolve around.
Blanche is a old-South woman, who sees her self as very upper-class, and very respectable. She looks down on all around her, and thinks that she is better than everybody else. She is an outcast in the setting of New Orleans, and tries to fit into the society with little avail. She also seems to live in an idealized world. Below are 5 words that are used to describe her, and which highlight her character the best.
The first word that I chose describes her best is glamorous. Blance is shown throughout the play as an upper-class woman, who thinks of herself as living the high life. She is constantly changing clothes, as an actress would do, and she portrays herself as a diva would do.
The second word that I chose to describe Blance was liar. Throughout the play, Blanche tells blatant lies to people, to make other people think of her in a better light. This again lends itself to the idea that Blanche is an actress, and shows a public face, which is usually completely different to her real life. One example of these lies, and her manipulation of her sister, is on page 60, where she tells Mitch that she is a year younger than Stella, just to make her seem more important than Stella, and also to save face.
The third word that I would use to describe Blanche is lovely. Blanche has a beauty around her that makes her seem as if she is out-of-place in the rough town of New Orleans. This beauty adds to her character, and helps to show one reason that she lies so often, to protect herself from the harshness of New Orleans.
The fourth word that descibes Blanche best is delicate. Blanche is constantly needing to protect herself from everything, and is always feeling vulnerable in the harsh New Orleans. Her delicateness makes her appear in a way that makes the other characters pity her, something that she seems to thrive off.
The last word that I chose to describe Blanche is dainty. Again, Blanche has a sort of beauty around her that makes her seem fragile, and is what makes Stella and Mitch feel pity for her, and what makes them want to protect her from all the evils of the world. She uses this daintyness to get what she wants from Mitch, and to control everybody else she knows.
Stanley is completly different to Blanche. Not only is he a powerful, strong man, but he is dominating and violent. As a working class man, Stanley feels the need to control everything around him, and when Blanche tries to upset this, he begins to feel threatened.
The first word that I chose to describe Stanley is executioner. Blanche calls him this, while talking to Mitch, and that forshadows both what Stanley is capable of, and also how threatening of a person he is.
Secondly, I would use straightforward to describe Stanley. He doesn't mince his words. If he thinks something, he will say it, which helps to show that he is a powerful man, who doesn't care how his words affect people. This lends itself to the cruel side of Stanley's character, and the impulsiveness.
Third, Stanley is described as a primtive. This again lends a theme of power in Stanley. When we hear the word primitive, we think of strong, short, hairy powerful neanderthal. This goes along perfectly with the large paragraph that we get at the beginning of the book to describe him.
Pride is another great descriptor for Stanley. Everything that he does is because of his pride. He feels threatened by the presence of Blanche, and feels that he will lose the power that he holds over Stella. He is very controlling, and takes great pride in being the "alpha" of the group.
Finally, I described Stanley as honest. As I said earlier, he doesn't mince his words. When Blanche asks him what he thinks of her, he tells her. He doesn't lie, he doesn't tell a half-truth, he just tells her the truth. And throughout the play we see this. The only time that he doesn't tell the truth is when Blanche is yelling about him.
Stanley: Executioner, straightforward, primitive, pride, honest
The two characters that I will discuss here are Blance and Stanley, who the story seems to revolve around.
Blanche is a old-South woman, who sees her self as very upper-class, and very respectable. She looks down on all around her, and thinks that she is better than everybody else. She is an outcast in the setting of New Orleans, and tries to fit into the society with little avail. She also seems to live in an idealized world. Below are 5 words that are used to describe her, and which highlight her character the best.
The first word that I chose describes her best is glamorous. Blance is shown throughout the play as an upper-class woman, who thinks of herself as living the high life. She is constantly changing clothes, as an actress would do, and she portrays herself as a diva would do.
The second word that I chose to describe Blance was liar. Throughout the play, Blanche tells blatant lies to people, to make other people think of her in a better light. This again lends itself to the idea that Blanche is an actress, and shows a public face, which is usually completely different to her real life. One example of these lies, and her manipulation of her sister, is on page 60, where she tells Mitch that she is a year younger than Stella, just to make her seem more important than Stella, and also to save face.
The third word that I would use to describe Blanche is lovely. Blanche has a beauty around her that makes her seem as if she is out-of-place in the rough town of New Orleans. This beauty adds to her character, and helps to show one reason that she lies so often, to protect herself from the harshness of New Orleans.
The fourth word that descibes Blanche best is delicate. Blanche is constantly needing to protect herself from everything, and is always feeling vulnerable in the harsh New Orleans. Her delicateness makes her appear in a way that makes the other characters pity her, something that she seems to thrive off.
The last word that I chose to describe Blanche is dainty. Again, Blanche has a sort of beauty around her that makes her seem fragile, and is what makes Stella and Mitch feel pity for her, and what makes them want to protect her from all the evils of the world. She uses this daintyness to get what she wants from Mitch, and to control everybody else she knows.
Stanley is completly different to Blanche. Not only is he a powerful, strong man, but he is dominating and violent. As a working class man, Stanley feels the need to control everything around him, and when Blanche tries to upset this, he begins to feel threatened.
The first word that I chose to describe Stanley is executioner. Blanche calls him this, while talking to Mitch, and that forshadows both what Stanley is capable of, and also how threatening of a person he is.
Secondly, I would use straightforward to describe Stanley. He doesn't mince his words. If he thinks something, he will say it, which helps to show that he is a powerful man, who doesn't care how his words affect people. This lends itself to the cruel side of Stanley's character, and the impulsiveness.
Third, Stanley is described as a primtive. This again lends a theme of power in Stanley. When we hear the word primitive, we think of strong, short, hairy powerful neanderthal. This goes along perfectly with the large paragraph that we get at the beginning of the book to describe him.
Pride is another great descriptor for Stanley. Everything that he does is because of his pride. He feels threatened by the presence of Blanche, and feels that he will lose the power that he holds over Stella. He is very controlling, and takes great pride in being the "alpha" of the group.
Finally, I described Stanley as honest. As I said earlier, he doesn't mince his words. When Blanche asks him what he thinks of her, he tells her. He doesn't lie, he doesn't tell a half-truth, he just tells her the truth. And throughout the play we see this. The only time that he doesn't tell the truth is when Blanche is yelling about him.
Stanley: Executioner, straightforward, primitive, pride, honest
I'd like you to comment on the social connotations of these words. For example, what do we associate with dainty? Someone who is fragile?
ReplyDeleteMs. M